


The Harder the Rain, the Sweeter the Sun

by 2old4dis



Series: My emotional support Naruto AU plz don’t read unless u want to I guess [3]
Category: Naruto
Genre: I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I’ll update the tags as I go, M/M, No Uchiha Massacre, This is all AU, like mega gay, non Akatsuki Itachi, this is super gay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:33:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26265790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/2old4dis/pseuds/2old4dis
Summary: After a devastating attack on Konoha, the Fourth Hokage forges an alliance with the Akatsuki. Itachi and Kisame have to overcome their own personal issues and work together to help stop this war.Also they end up falling in love oops
Relationships: Hoshigaki Kisame/Uchiha Itachi
Series: My emotional support Naruto AU plz don’t read unless u want to I guess [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1905244
Comments: 2
Kudos: 30





	The Harder the Rain, the Sweeter the Sun

**Author's Note:**

> Hello I’m back with this trash AU where there is sad stuff. Itachi is 18, Kisame is 24. As you can see Shisui is alive so we just out here fixing all sorts of stuff. 
> 
> In all honesty I just wanted to write Itachi simping for his mans so enjoy?

No one could ever have predicted that an attack on Konoha would ever come from within but sure enough, with an earth shaking explosion, the Hokage tower burst into flames and out of the debris crawled Orochimaru and Danzo. With great difficulty and much loss of life, the Konoha Shinobi stopped their villainous onslaught by killing Danzo but Orochimaru managed to slither away to harass his former home some other day. 

While that event, in itself was shocking, the true surprise was the aid of the former terrorist group known as the Akatsuki. Orochimaru was one of their ex members and they felt some sort of bizarre responsibility for him. Of course, any help was probably for the best, so, six months after the initial attack on Konoha, Minato made the executive decision to go ahead and accept their offer to help hunt Orochimaru and that is how Itachi first met Kisame Hoshigaki.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Since being stationed near the Land of River’s border, Itachi would never, ever, again complain when it was too humid in Konoha. The scenery may be beautiful, exotic tree trunks growing out of crystal clear water, but the air felt perpetually wet and it left unsightly stains on everyone’s shirts, no matter the strength of their anti perspirants. Not to mention the mosquitos. Despite the uncomfortable heat and dampness, the ANBU crew had been stationed here for long enough that it was starting to feel a bit like, so Itachi kept his complaints to himself. Not that he would ever attempt conversation anyway. As it was, his team mates were far more social than he, choosing to sit around the fire pit and chat while they sharpened weapons and poured over technique scrolls. Itachi eyed his tent and debated napping before having to take watch that night when a cry went out. Someone was approaching the camp. 

“Look alive, maggots. It’s Tsunade,” growled their squad leader before sliding on his bear mask. The other ANBU mirrored his actions, pulling on their own masks. Itachi tightened the straps of his fox mask, cursing internally. It was absolutely stifling trying to breathe in this humidity as it was. The mask most certainly didn’t help. 

Tsunade made her way through the shrubbery and jogged up to them, gravel crunching beneath her heel. The man in the bear mask gently sighed and in the safety of his mask Itachi rolled his eyes. 

“Tsunade-hime,” murmured Bear when she approached him. “Do we have orders?”

She tossed one long pigtail over her shoulder before presenting him a sealed scroll. “I do but I would prefer to review them with you before presenting to your squad. The orders are… unorthodox.” 

“At ease, then,” ordered Bear before snapping around on his heel. He led Tsunade away from them. 

“Unorthodox,” repeated Bird. The blank eyes of her mask seemed to follow their leader and Tsunade as he took the scroll into his tent. She slumped back down onto the log and resumed sharpening her katana. 

“I wonder what it means,” questioned Shisui from under his mouse mask. He squatted down on the ground, clearly wanting to know why Tsunade was here instead of going back to the lookout post. 

Itachi picked his way through their belongings, over to the log they used as a bench and sat down on the side nearest to Bear’s tent. His ears strained to hear any voices from the tent but their muffling Jutsu were clearly working. For two weeks the crew sat out here, being devoured by mosquitoes and melting in the humidity. Anything to break the monotony was welcome at this point, although having their orders be described as “unorthodox” was definitely a new one. What could be so strange that it warranted such a warning? 

After what felt like hours, but could not have actually been more than about thirty minutes, Bear and Tsunade emerged from the canvas tent. The Sannin woman seemed uninterested in their proceedings but Bear’s posture was taut and tense. The scroll was gripped tightly in his hand. 

“Listen up. We have a new team member. We are under very strict orders not to attack or kill our newest member, punishable by death. This member is bringing us the rest of the mission statement and will be arriving either tonight or tomorrow. Let me be perfectly clear again. Do not attack him.”

“Also,” interjected Tsunade “You will be needing his help for the mission. This has never been done before and is a historic moment. The Hokage himself made this gamble. He is depending on the success of this mission. Am I clear?” 

“Yes, ma’am.” They responded in unison. The ANBU stood at attention until Tsunade yawned. 

“You’re dismissed. The trip was long. I’m tired and going to bed. Please wake me up when our guest arrives.” 

“How will we know it’s him?” asked Shisui. 

“Trust me,” Bear grumbled, sullen “You will know. Bird, take watch for now. Itachi, you can relieve her at midnight. Shisui, help Tsunade get her tent set up. I will make sure she gets fed.”

Bird and Itachi nodded before standing down. Bird headed towards their makeshift tower, while Itachi headed towards the river for a quick bath. It was near enough that he could still hear the sounds of Shisui setting up a tent, and occasionally him laughing. The water felt good against his feverish skin. It was so clear he could see minnows flitting about in the aquatic plants. He watched them and pondered the situation. Who was this mystery man? Someone from Root? But why would the attack a Konoha ninja? Unless he wasn’t from Konoha after all. But they also would most likely not just attack and kill another Shinobi like that. Why the specific orders forbidding killing him? His fingernails scratched at his scalp, shampooing away the sweat and grime that was so quick to accumulate in this climate. Taking a deep breath, he completely submerged himself, gently floating in the stream before swimming back up to the bank and starting on laundry.

After he cleaned out as much of the sweat as he could, Itachi bundled the wet laundry up and trudged back to camp in his boxers. He hung his clothes up near the fire to dry. Someone would gather all the laundry tonight and they would sort them together tomorrow, so he wasn’t too worried about catching some sleep before his night shift. He pulled on a dry set of clothes and unrolled his sleeping bag and sleep mask. Although it was evening, the sun was still up and the tent wasn’t light proof enough for him to even attempt sleep without it. His sleeping mask was soft against his face and he fell asleep almost immediately. 

“Itachi. It’s time.”

Itachi reached up and slid his sleep mask down. Bird was squatting on her toes over his sleeping back, her ANBU mask perched on the side of her face. In the moonlight, her yellow eyes looked almost the same color as her hair. Still bleary, Itachi sat up, rolled out of bed, and slipped his shoes on. Bird followed him out before the rustle of the tent flap told him she was headed to bed. 

The makeshift surveillance tower was hidden away in the second tallest tree by several genjutsu. While not exactly cozy, it did offer some shelter from the elements by having at least a roof and walls, even if the walls were mostly what one could call a window. Itachi hopped in through one of the open sides and took up his post. 

Earlier, when he’d gone to sleep the sky was clear except for a few clouds. Now, the air hung heavy with moisture. In the distance there was a rumbling of thunder. Luckily his sharingan could see through the rain if he needed it but things had been so quiet these last few weeks he doubted anything would happen, besides the arrival of their new team mate. He settled in and started his watch. 

It took about 2 hours before the skies opened up. Sheets of rain battered the lookout tower and Itachi was grateful the roof held. Gusts of wind blew in some rain, but the shack mostly kept it out, with the help of some clever shielding jutsu. The fact that his face was mostly dry because he was wearing his mask was the only reason Itachi even realized there was another person trudging their way up the path to their encampment. 

The stranger wore a dark cloak patterned with swirling red clouds. Miraculously, their hat stayed on in the wind, to Itachi’s dismay. Before they got too much closer, Itachi jumped in their path, cutting them off. He stood up to come face to face with the persons… chest. He tipped his head up, taking in the broad shoulders of the stranger, slightly in awe, to stare into the shadows underneath their hat. He saw a flash of white teeth before the stranger spoke.

“Konoha ANBU? I assume?”

His voice was deep and rumbling, almost like the thunder. Despite the amusement, Itachi could hear the wariness. He couldn’t fault him really. This wasn’t a time where one could just stroll around unscathed. Many enemy nin prowled the wilderness. The stranger rolled his massive shoulders back, popping the joint and breaking Itachi from his reverie. 

“Come with me.” He was embarrassed at how breathless he sounded. The stranger’s long strides ate up the ground and Itachi almost had to jog to stay ahead of him. He led the man to his tent before realizing his height would be an issue. 

“Please, wait here while I grab Tsunade. Feel free to dry off.”

The stranger grabbed the rim of his hat and took it off and Itachi, out of habit, schooled his features to hide his surprise. Luckily the mask hid his expression, in case he hadn’t caught himself in time. Slightly crouched, in the middle of the tent, was a drenched Kisame Hoshigaki, famed member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist Village and Akatsuki, S Ranked Missing nin, and probably one of the most deadly men alive. His grey eyes met Kisame’s pearly white ones briefly, before he ducked his head through the opening of the tent and left.

Oh my God, holy shit. He took a moment to calm his racing heart before clearing his throat. Now he understood the stern command to absolutely not murder their ally on sight. They all heard the rumors that the Hokage made some sort of alliance with the band of village traitors, but none of them believed, dismissing the whole notion as wartime gossip. Seems like there was some merit to the stories after all.

“Tsunade-sama? He’s here.” 

Tsunade whipped the tent flap open, startling Itachi. She beamed at him. “Oh perfect! Is he in your tent?” 

Itachi nodded before stepping out of her way. She wore a fuzzy mint green robe over a soft sleep gown and didn’t even hesitate to walk barefoot across the camp before ducking into Itachi’s tent. He followed her. 

Inside the tent, Hoshigaki had removed his outer cloak and hung it from the back poles to dry next to his hat. He still stood there in a grey t shirt, completely soaked. It clung to the hard planes of his chest and midriff, leaving nothing to the imagination. His biceps strained the thin fabric of the sleeves as he lifted his hands up to run his fingers through wet hair. Itachi felt light headed. 

“Hoshigaki-san I hope your travels went well?” Tsunade reached out to clasp his hand. “We will have to get you a bigger tent. You’re much taller than I thought.”

Hoshigaki snorted. “So are you.” The two shared a light hearted chuckle. 

“Where’s that sword of yours at? I’ve been dying to see it.” Tsunade peered around his hunched over form. 

“Oh the sword? I’ve got her, don’t worry. She’s just sealed away. She’s got new wrappings and I didn’t want to make a bad impression by showing up with a dirty sword.” Tsunade laughed again and Kisame crouched all the way down. His fingers moved deftly as he released the seal on a scroll spread in front of him. Itachi hadn’t even noticed it. Sitting on the paper was a neatly folded set of clothes. 

“Well I just wanted to welcome you to the crew. We can brief on the mission tomorrow. For now rest up. If it’s not too much trouble, you can stay here in Itachi’s tent.” Tsunade turned towards Itachi. “You’re still on look out duty, aren’t you?” 

There was nothing Itachi wanted less than to share a tent with an actual war criminal. He gritted his teeth before answering. “I would be honored to share a tent with Hoshigaki-san.” 

Tsunade smiled, approving his answer and waved her hand to dismiss him before returning to her own tent. Itachi turned to come face to face with his new team mate.

“I can smell a lie, you know. You don’t want me here.” There was a predatory glint to the missing nin’s eyes. Itachi refused to look away. After a beat, Kisame blinked slowly and sat down in front of his pile of supplies. “Run along to your post, Itachi-kun.” 

Itachi waited a moment before turning away, just as Hoshigaki grabbed the neck of his t shirt and began to pull it off. Outside, the rain was still pouring down and Itachi was grateful for the white noise. It was easier to settle his thoughts this way. 

He hopped up onto the branch that the makeshift shack was on and gracefully climbed into the window. The air inside his mask was stifling and feeling vaguely wicked, he pulled it off. The air felt cool on his sweaty face and it smelled of vegetation and dirt. 

Lookout duty was, for lack of a better description, painfully boring. Itachi found himself switching his sharingan on and off just to see where the focus landed, but his thoughts began to wander to his tent mate. What was Hoshigaki doing at the moment? Was he asleep yet? Maybe he rifled through Itachi’s things first. How would they both fit in the tent together? Itachi, although not anywhere near what one could consider freakishly tall, was not particularly short. His tent was standard issue. While it could, and had before. house two Shinobi, the space was limited. Hoshigaki on his own could fill the tent. Not to mention there was the sword. 

Sealed away, it wasn’t a problem, but according to the Bingo Book that sword was Kisame’s most distinct feature. Which was saying something, since the man was over six feet tall and blue, to boot. Itachi had seen footage of the corpses the sword left behind. And it was as tall as a man. Not usually the type of room mate he looked forward to. 

His thoughts wandered back to the sword’s wielder. Kisame Hoshigaki, on paper, was what nightmares were made of, but in person he had been nothing but polite, joking with Tsunade. Even his parting remarks were what Itachi would call observational, rather than outwardly rude. He seemed almost friendly. Physically, he was one of the tallest men Itachi had ever seen. His mastery of swordplay was apparent in his posture and just the sheer size of his upper body. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that most of his bulk must be from swinging that fearsome sword of his around. 

The first rays of dawn lightened the grey clouds before Shisui, still groggy from sleep, came to relieve Itachi. The rain mostly let up, still gently sprinkling, as Itachi wearily dashed back to the encampment. He noted that someone had taken the clothes line down and moved the firewood and mentally thanked them. His own tent seemed so foreboding but he didn’t allow himself the luxury of overthinking it. It was his tent goddammit. 

Hoshigaki was laid out in a massive sleeping bag along the long side of the tent, barely fitting. When Itachi entered, Hoshigaki opened his eyes. The flat silver orbs followed his every move with interest. Itachi hesitated before untying his mask and lowering it to the ground. 

“You don’t look anything like I pictured you would.” 

The rumbling voice caught Itachi off guard. He wasn’t expecting Kisame to actually speak, and he definitely wasn’t expecting Kisame to make a statement about his appearance. It took a moment for him to formulate an answer. “I’m sorry if I disturbed you.” 

“It’s not a big deal.” The sharky eyes squinted with amusement. “I’m a light sleeper. Job hazard.” 

Itachi observed Kisame respectfully looking away as he stripped his wet clothes off before crawling into his sleeping bag. He lay on his back facing the ceiling and listened for Kisame’s movements. A quick glance showed him Kisame had his eyes closed but Itachi knew the other man was most likely not asleep and probably wouldn’t be sleeping much that night. Not that Itachi would either. He felt too energetic and was trying not to fidget.

Itachi glanced over again to see if Kisame’s eyes were still closed and was pleased to discover that they were. Silently, he activated his sharingan and peered over, curiously. Kisame Hoshigaki’s features were remarkably interesting. His eyes were rather small and surrounded by strange black markings. His hair was a slightly darker blue than the grey-blue of his skin, the follicles thick and coarse looking. His nose was strong with a slight bump in the bridge, an indicator that it was previously broken, which considering his profession and lifestyle, it was very much possible. His cheekbones were high, with gill like ripples crossing over them. All in all, despite his unfamiliar features, it was not a bad face. Secretly Itachi conceded that it kind of was a little nice, even. He let the sharingan fade away and closed his eyes and evened out his breathing. 

Kisame Hoshigaki had tried picturing what he looked like under his mask.


End file.
